Abstract:

An interactive display device of a preferred embodiment includes a display
surface and a touch interface associated with the display surface. A
first LCD layer generates a dynamic parallax barrier and a second LCD
layer generates stereoscopic images in cooperation with the first LCD
layer. A light source backlights the first and second LCD layers. A
preferred method for controlling an interactive stereoscopic display
device provides two-dimensional content to be displayed by the second LCD
layer, three-dimensional content to be displayed by the second LCD layer,
and generates a description that overlays two-dimensional content to be
rendered monoscopically onto three-dimensional content to be rendered
stereoscopically. Parallax barrier content is displayed on the first LCD
layer. A preferred method for displaying images overlays monoscopic and
stereoscopic image data into combined image data and displays the
combined image data to the second LCD layer. Dynamic parallax barriers
are displayed on the first LCD layer in cooperation with the second LCD
layer. User interaction with the display device is sensed, and the
combined image data is altered in response to user interaction.

Claims:

1. An interactive display device comprising:a display surface;a touch
interface associated with said display surface;a first LCD layer for
generating a dynamic parallax barrier;a second LCD layer for generating
stereoscopic images in cooperation with said first LCD layer; anda light
source disposed to backlight said first and second LCD layers.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising a diffuser between said
second LCD layer and said light source.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said touch interface comprises:a clear
sheet including said display surface;an infrared camera having a view of
said clear sheet; andinfrared LEDs disposed to project infrared light on
said clear sheet to be reflected toward said infrared camera upon user
touch.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said infrared LEDs are embedded around
said clear sheet.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein said second LCD layer also generates
monoscopic images.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein said first and second LCD layers comprise
a plurality displays tiled together.

8. The device of claim 1 further comprising:a video camera; anda network
controller configured for networking said device to at least one
additional remote display device for remote collaboration.

9. A display system, comprising:a display device in accordance with claim
1;a computer-readable storage medium; andsoftware stored on said
computer-readable storage medium for controlling said display device,
said software system comprising a display application manager that
manages two-dimensional content to be rendered monoscopically by said
second LCD layer and manages three-dimensional content to be rendered
stereoscopically by said second LCD layer.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said application manager generates a
three-dimensional scene description, said software further comprising a
dynamic parallax barrier module to generate three dimensional image data
from said three-dimensional scene description and overlay two-dimensional
image data with the three-dimensional image data.

11. The system of claim 10 further comprising a finger tracker module to
provide said display application manger with touch interface data.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said finger tracker module
communicates with said display application manager via a network
connection.

13. An interactive display device comprising:a display surface;a gesture
interface associated with said display surface;a first LCD layer for
generating a dynamic parallax barrier;a second LCD layer for generating
stereoscopic images in cooperation with said first LCD layer; anda light
source disposed to backlight said first and second LCD layers.

14. A method for controlling an interactive stereoscopic display device
having a first LCD layer that generates a dynamic parallax barrier and a
second LCD layer that can generate monoscopic and stereoscopic display,
the method comprising the steps of:providing two-dimensional content to
be displayed by the second LCD layer;providing three-dimensional content
to be displayed by the second LCD layer;generating a description that
overlays two-dimensional content to be rendered monoscopically onto
three-dimensional content to be rendered stereoscopically; andproviding
parallax barrier content to be displayed on the first LCD layer.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:tracking plural
users; andrendering a pair of images for each user based on the scene
description, wherein one image is rendered for viewing by the user's left
eye and the other image is rendered for viewing by the user's right eye.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the steps of:electronically
slicing s pair of images rendered in said step of rendering into a
plurality of thin pieces;combining the pieces from the pair of images
into a single image; anddisplaying the single image on the second LCD
layer.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of:sensing user
interaction with the display device.

18. A method for displaying images on an interactive stereoscopic display
device having a first LCD layer that generates a dynamic parallax barrier
and a second LCD layer that can generate monoscopic and stereoscopic
display, the method comprising the steps of:overlaying monoscopic and
stereoscopic image data into combined image data and displaying the
combined image data to the second LCD layer;displaying dynamic parallax
barriers on the first LCD layer in cooperation with said second LCD
layer;sensing user interaction with the display device; andadjusting the
combined image data in response to user interaction.

[0003]Fields of the invention include interactive data display,
exploration and collaboration.

BACKGROUND ART

[0004]Standard computer displays greatly limit the ability of a user to
explore, interact and collaborate with others. Relatively small amounts
of data are presented on a standard computer display. Use of multiple
displays is common, but multiple displays do little to solve the
difficulties encountered when attempting to view and explore complex
data.

[0005]Scientists, designers and engineers increasingly focus on complex
phenomena, rely on instruments that produce greater volumes of data, and
collaborate with geographically distributed teams. General purpose
computing, gaming and other applications also can present complex and
highly detailed environments and interactions. A central challenge for
researchers using scientific systems and other users of gaming and
general purpose systems is the ability to manage the increased scale and
complexity of the information and environment presented by a display.
Greater scale and complexity places a heavy strain on computational
systems and infrastructure. Additionally, the usability of such systems
is also limited by human factors, such as their cognition and/or
attention-span.

[0006]Large interactive displays have been developed, primarily for the
field of scientific research and collaboration. One example is the
LambdaVision 100-Megapixel wall-sized LCD tiled display introduced by
Electronic Visualization Laboratory ("EVL"), which quickly resulted in
over a dozen research laboratories constructing compatible instruments,
called OptIPortals. EVL also developed the Scalable Adaptive Graphics
Environment ("SAGE") operating system software to enable domain
scientists to work and collaborate using these displays The massive
resolution afforded by these displays enabled users to view large
collections of high-resolution visualizations generated in real-time from
compute clusters housed at supercomputing facilities around the world.

[0007]These displays however, include limitations, which can reduce
usability when being used with certain applications. One such limitation
is the position and/or orientation of the display. Since electronic data
often replaces the physical presentation of data, there is a concern that
users will have difficulty adapting to the electronic presentation of
data. Therefore, one design criteria of such displays is to provide users
with the feeling of working in a traditional work environment, thereby
increasing usability.

[0008]Another display device developed by EVL is the LambdaTable
24-Megapixel table-oriented LCD display. This device employs a horizontal
display and presents a more natural working environment that encourages
visualizations and collaborations as it replicates common human practices
of working with whiteboards, printouts, blue prints, etc. where multiple
people gather around a table to view data and/or documents.

[0009]Users of the LambdaTable interact with "pucks", which are used to
control the display. Special purpose pucks, for example, permit moving,
shrinking, selecting, and magnifying a portion of data being displayed.
Users can select and manipulate data with the pucks, and the table-sized
display allows multiple users to view and interact with the data
simultaneously. Displays using pucks however, have several limitations.
An example limitation is that the number of users interacting with a
display is limited by the number of available pucks. Pucks are also
costly and subject to loss or damage, thereby requiring replacement.

[0010]One display device that avoids use of such pucks is the
projector-based Microsoft® Surface display. The Surface employs a
multi-touch interface, which allows a user to interact with the display
by touching it with one or more fingers, thereby forgoing the need for
pucks.

[0011]To further enhance usability and more closely resemble a user's
natural working environment, some developers have introduced displays
capable of producing three-dimensional ("3D" or "stereoscopic") images,
instead of the traditional two-dimensional ("2D" or monoscopic) images as
provided in the examples above. Examples of stereoscopic displays include
the Philips® MultiSync non-interactive LCD display product line.
However, since these displays are configured specifically to display
stereoscopic images, they are greatly limited in their ability to display
monoscopic images. While such monoscopic images can be displayed, the
quality/resolution is considerably poor when compared to traditional
monoscopic displays.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

[0012]An interactive display device of a preferred embodiment includes a
display surface and a touch interface associated with the display
surface. A first LCD layer generates a dynamic parallax barrier and a
second LCD layer generates stereoscopic images in cooperation with the
first LCD layer. A light source backlights the first and second LCD
layers.

[0013]A preferred method for controlling an interactive stereoscopic
display device provides two-dimensional content to be displayed by the
second LCD layer, three-dimensional content to be displayed by the second
LCD layer, and generates a description that overlays two-dimensional
content to be rendered monoscopically onto three-dimensional content to
be rendered stereoscopically. Parallax barrier content is displayed on
the first LCD layer.

[0014]A preferred method for displaying images overlays monoscopic and
stereoscopic image data into combined image data and displays the
combined image data to the second LCD layer. Dynamic parallax barriers
are displayed on the first LCD layer in cooperation with the second LCD
layer. User interaction with the display device is sensed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1A is a schematic side view of a preferred embodiment of an
interactive display device of the invention;

[0017]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a dynamic parallax
barrier;

[0018]FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred software and control system for
controlling an interactive display device of the invention;

[0019]FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a parallax barrier;

[0020]FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an alternate embodiment of
a parallax barrier;

[0021]FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of an LCD screen and an
alternate embodiment of a parallax barrier;

[0022]FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of
an interactive display device of the invention; and

[0023]FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of another a preferred
embodiment of an interactive display device of the invention.

PREFERRED MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0024]Preferred embodiments of the invention provide an interactive
display device, which is capable of displaying both monoscopic and
stereoscopic images. However, unlike other stereoscopic displays known in
the art (e.g., the Philips® Multi-sync), the device displays
monoscopic images as resolutions comparable to traditional monoscopic
displays (i.e., full native resolution). In other words, monoscopic image
resolution is not compromised by the device's ability to display
stereoscopic images. The display device is also capable of displaying
both monoscopic images and stereoscopic images simultaneously. That is,
users can view both monoscopic windows and stereoscopic windows side by
side without having to wear specialized 3D glasses or having to switch
between modes. This minimizes physical encumbrances associated with the
current commercial instruments. The device also provides the user with
either touch or gesture-based interaction.

[0025]The usability of a display system is limited by human factors, such
as cognition and/or attention-span. Usability is enhanced when a user is
provided with the feeling of working in a traditional work environment.
However, depending on the application being run, users will have
different expectations regarding the working environment. The ability to
display both monoscopic and stereoscopic images allows for greater
flexibility in representing a traditional work environment for a given
application.

[0026]For example, consider a group of individuals using the device to
collaborate and research geographical information. A traditional working
environment may include information likes maps, pictures, statistical
data, etc. While some of this information lends itself to being displayed
as a stereoscopic image (e.g., maps), other information is traditionally
presented as a monoscopic image (e.g., statistical data). Consider for
example, a spreadsheet of data concerning a particular region on a map.
In a traditional working environment, geologists would likely use a map
or a globe to view this particular region along with a standard
spreadsheet of data. Using devices of the invention, users can view a
stereoscopic representation of the map and simultaneously view a
monoscopic representation of the statistical data alongside the map.
Similarly, general purpose computing, gaming, communication and many
other systems can benefit from the simultaneous clear display of
monoscopic data along with stereoscopic data presented by a display of
the invention.

[0027]An interactive display device of a preferred embodiment includes a
display surface and a touch interface associated with the display
surface. A first LCD layer generates a dynamic parallax barrier and a
second LCD layer generates stereoscopic images in cooperation with the
first LCD layer. A light source backlights the first and second LCD
layers.

[0028]A preferred method for controlling an interactive stereoscopic
display device provides two-dimensional content to be displayed by the
second LCD layer, three-dimensional content to be displayed by the second
LCD layer, and generates a description that overlays two-dimensional
content to be rendered monoscopically onto three-dimensional content to
be rendered stereoscopically. Parallax barrier content is displayed on
the first LCD layer.

[0029]A preferred method for displaying images overlays monoscopic and
stereoscopic image data into combined image data and displays the
combined image data to the second LCD layer. Dynamic parallax barriers
are displayed on the first LCD layer in cooperation with the second LCD
layer. User interaction with the display device is sensed

[0030]Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be discussed with
respect to the drawings. The drawings may include schematic
representations, which will be understood by artisans in view of the
general knowledge in the art and the description that follows. Features
may be exaggerated in the drawings for emphasis, and features may not be
to scale.

[0031]A preferred embodiment of the invention is a large format high
resolution interactive display device 10 configured as desk, which is
likely to replace a desk and computer workstation. It is noted that such
devices can also be configured in other forms (e.g., a table or portable
case) as desired by the user. The preferred embodiment display 10 is
sized similarly to a traditional desk, providing a generous display and
workspace. The desk is a single example, and the invention is not limited
thereto. The display 10 can be configured in other arrangements, for
example on stands or mounts to present a vertical display and workspace
or a horizontal display and workspace when the device 10 is configured as
a desk.

[0032]Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the preferred embodiment of the
display device 10 is shown. Included in the device 10 is a top layer of a
clear sheet 12, preferably made of an acrylic material, such as
polymethyl methacrylate or another clear polymer. The clear sheet 12
presents a display surface to user. Further included in the device 10 is
a first LCD layer 14 for presenting a dynamic parallax barrier to enable
autostereopsis. Dynamic parallax barriers can be built from one or more
LCD Panels as shown in FIG. 2, which labels the sub parts of the barrier
14 of FIG. 1. While it is contemplated that devices will be fabricated
from new techniques, example devices have been built from components of
existing LCD panels. To build a dynamic parallax barrier from existing
LCD displays (left side of FIG. 2), two LCD monitors are dissembled and
re-assembles them into a common enclosure, sharing a common backlight.
This creates a rear polarizer 14a, a mid polarizer 14b, and a front
polarizer 14c. Liquid crystal panels 14e and 14f are disposed between the
polarizer panels 14a-14c. Angles of polarization between the two LCD
screens are orthogonal to each other. This requires careful removal of
the rear polarizer from the front LCD. Because the illumination reaching
the front LCD is rotated 90° by the rear LCD, the front LCD
behaves in the inverse, and the parallax barrier is drawn white-on-black
rather than black-on-white. Preferred dynamic parallax barriers have been
developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and
are has and are described in a web-available publication by Peterka et
al., entitled "Dynallax: Solid State Dynamic Parallax Barrier
Autostereoscopic VR Display." An autostereoscopic display with the
dynamic parallax barrier is also described in U.S. Patent Publication
20080143895.

[0033]Referring back to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a second LCD layer 16 generates
both monoscopic and/or stereoscopic images (the term screen will be used
to describe a user's view of both the first LCD layer 14 and the second
LCD layer 16). A light source 18, such as fluorescent tubing light
emitting diodes or other backlighting, illuminates the LCD layers 14 and
16. A thin diffuser 20 is preferably disposed between the second LCD
layer 16 and the light source 18 averages the illumination from the light
source 18. One or more additional diffusers can be used to further
average the illumination from the light source and eliminate illumination
hot spots.

[0034]Users interact with the device 10 via a touch interface, which
preferably provides multi-touch interaction with the device. The
preferred touch interface renders external devices, e.g., pucks,
unnecessary, though they may be applied if desired. The touch interface
permits users to use their own hands to interact with the device 10. An
example touch interface utilizes infrared LEDs 22 that are embedded in or
around the clear sheet 12 to sense human contact. Preferably, there is
also a gesture interface. An infrared camera 24 below the diffuser 20
cooperates with the infrared LEDs 22 to provide the touch interface. The
diffuser 20 can have an opening or clear section to provide the camera 24
with a view through the diffuser to the clear sheet 12 for determining
user interaction. The camera 24 and light source 18 are preferably
disposed in a box 26 having a generally uniform glossy white interior.

[0035]The touch sensing used in the preferred embodiment device 10 is
based upon use of Frustrated Total Internal Reflection ("FTIR"). See,
Han, "Low-cost multi-touch sensing through frustrated total internal
reflection." 2005 Proceedings of the 18th annual ACM symposium on User
interface software and technology. Seattle, Wash., USA, ACM. By this
technique, the infrared LEDs 22 are embedded at the edges of the clear
sheet 12. When an object is brought within several wavelengths' distance,
the internally reflected infrared light is able to pass through the
acrylic sheet where it is detected by an infrared camera. Han's original
implementation was applied to projection-based screens, but has been
adapted in the invention to work with LCD panels. Even when an LCD panel
is completely opaque to visible light, the infrared light is able to pass
through and user interaction can be detected with the camera 24 that
senses the internally reflected light caused by user interaction with the
screen. An advantage of using LCD panels is that they can be viewed in a
normally lit room.

[0036]Tiled-display surfaces, present a unique issue with respect to
constructing FTIR touch screens in that the mullions (i.e., borders) can
occlude the infrared camera's view of portions of the FTIR screen. This
can overcome this by first building the FTIR screen as a single large
acrylic sheet rather than as a tiling of screens, and raising it some
distance (between 0.5'' and 1'') above the dynamic parallax barrier panel
depending on the field of view of the camera.

[0037]The device 10 also preferably includes a gesture interface. A
gesture interface uses sensors or cameras to detect gestures made by a
user without requiring the user to touch the clear sheet 12. The gesture
interface can detect a hand or other an object in close proximity to the
sheet 12, and permit gesture interaction with the device 10. Preferably,
infrared cameras 25 equipped with infrared illuminators are used for
gesture tracking (FIG. 1A). The cameras 25 are mounted around the
perimeter of the top sheet 12 and pointed inward so that the field of
view creates a tracking volume. The cameras have a relatively short depth
of field therefore only rendering relatively close objects as being
sufficiently distinct to register as a trackable object.

[0038]The device's ability to display images and interact with one or more
users is preferably managed by a software system. A preferred software
architecture and method 100 for the device is shown in FIG. 3. The method
100 is preferably stored on a computer-readable storage medium included
in the display device 10. The system 100 provides a finger tracker module
102 for gathering and transporting user touch data, a display application
manager module 104, which uses the touch data to update the environment,
and finally a dynamic parallax barrier driver module 106 for providing
image data to the device's LCD layers 14, 16.

[0039]In the finger tracker module 102, a noise filter component 110
causes the infrared cameras 24 to take raw images of the user's fingers
or other objects as he interacts with the device, which are smoothed with
various filters to reduce noise levels. Next, a finger extractor 110
examiners the contours and position of "blobs" found in the images. This
will identify the finger locations of the user 108 on the clear sheet 12
of the device (FIGS. 1A and 1B). A finger mapper 114 then maps finger
positions from the camera 24 to a unified screen coordinate system and
eliminates duplicate fingers that are picked up by any adjacent cameras
if multiple camera are used. Next, a gesture detection component 116
analyzes the movement of fingers and their relative distances to identify
certain predetermined touches or gestures. For example, the user 108 may
move two fingers simultaneously to pan the image displayed on the device
10. Finally, a touch transporter 118 sends touch interface data such as
finger touches, movements, and positions, and gesture interface data,
such as gesture positions and speeds to the application module 104. Such
communication is conducted over a network 120 such that the finger
tracker module 102 can exist on a separate computer from the remaining
modules, if desired.

[0040]Next, a touch acquisition component 122 in the display application
manager 104 acquires the touch and gesture interface data provided by the
finger tracker module 102 such that an environmental interaction
component 124 can manipulate and update the virtual environment and/or
any object it contains. Thereafter, a three-dimensional screen descriptor
126 generates a high level description of the three-dimensional scene
based on the current state of the environment. This description includes
the contained three-dimensional objects, their positions, and their
surface material properties. Similarly, a two-dimensional content
generator 128 generates all two-dimensional content including for
example, overlay images. Next, a view layout manager 130 generates a
description of the screen and specifies the portions of the screen that
have two-dimensional content, which should be rendered monoscopically,
and the portions of the screen that have three-dimensional content, which
should be rendered stereoscopically. As will be descried in further
detail below, the dynamic parallax barrier driver module 106 affords for
this configuration to be dynamic, and thus, the number, position, and
size of two-dimensional content can be changed by the display application
manager module 104 in real-time. A user configuration component 132 then
generates a description of the number of autostereoscopic views to be
generated and their corresponding vantage point in three-dimensional
space. This vantage point can able be modified in real-time to support a
variable number of users.

[0041]The last module is the dynamic parallax barrier driver module 106,
which has a parallax barrier generation component 134 for generating a
barrier by either drawing alternating opaque and transparent lines over
three-dimensional content, or leaving areas over two-dimensional content
transparent. Parameters of the parallax barrier are altered depending on
the user configuration component 132 in the display application manager
module 104. The resulting barrier image is then displayed on the first
LCD layer 14 on the device 10. A view rendering component 136 provides
for each user, a pair of images (one for the left eye and one for the
right eye) that are rendered based on the scene information generated by
the three-dimensional scene descriptor component 126. The total resulting
number of images equals the number of users multiplied by two. Next, a
three-dimensional image combination component 138 electronically slices
the rendered images into a plurality of thin pieces, which are combined
to form a single image. Finally, a two-dimensional image overlay
component 140 overlays the two-dimensional images onto the single image
to create an image which is displayed on the second LCD panel 16 of the
device 10.

[0042]The dynamic parallax barrier autostereoscopic technique used in
devices of the invention enables an LCD display to support viewing in
several simultaneous modes, with the viewing mode selectable on a
per-pixel basis. A single-viewer tracked autostereo mode enables a
high-resolution virtual-reality experience with first-person perspective,
giving ideal viewing of stereoscopic polygonal and volumetric data.
Dual-viewer tracked autostereo mode enables a shared virtual-reality
experience, with a first-person perspective for each user. Panoramic
autostereo mode provides a shared stereoscopic perspective to multiple
users, enabling group collaboration with stereoscopic data. Monoscopic
display at the LCD's full native resolution allows for the normal viewing
of fine text and high-resolution monoscopic digital imagery on both
instruments.

[0043]The dynamic parallax barrier technology enables these modes and
utilizes a parallax barrier, which is an alternating sequence of opaque
and transparent regions. An example is shown in FIG. 4. Typically, this
parallax barrier is mounted in front of an LCD display, offset from it by
a relatively small distance. The displayed image is correspondingly
divided into similar regions 200 of perspective views, such that all of
the regions belonging to one perspective are visible only by one eye 202,
and likewise a different set of regions 204 corresponding to another
perspective is visible by the other eye 206. The eyes 202, 206 are thus
simultaneously presented with two disparate views, which the brain fuses
into one stereoscopic image. Parallax barriers are usually mounted in a
rotated orientation relative to the pixel grid to minimize or restructure
the moire effect that results as an interference pattern between the
barrier and pixel grid.

[0044]Parallax barrier autostereo displays follow one of two design
paradigms. Tracked systems produce a stereo pair of views that follow the
user in space, given the location of the user's eyes or head from the
tracking system, these are strictly single-user systems

[0045]Another option is the untracked panoramagram where a sequence of
perspective views is displayed from slightly varying vantage points. An
example is shown in FIG. 5, which also has regions 200, 204 as described
above. However, in this approach, the regions 204 are configured such
that the display can be viewed by multiple users (i.e., by multiple
static eye positions 208). This option is well-suited to preferred
embodiment large format high resolution interactive display tables.
Multiple users can view this type of display, even upside-down, with
limited "look-around" capability. This enables viewers to stand on the
two long sides of large format high resolution interactive display table
and still see correct stereoscopic views. The degree of look-around and
the usable range of the display are determined by the number of views in
the sequence. There is a trade-off between the number of views and the
effective resolution of the three-dimensional image, and tests have
demonstrated that a 9-view sequence is optimal given the native
resolution of an example 30'' display and its intended pattern of use.

[0046]An example is shown in FIG. 6, in contrast to existing autostereo
displays, the dynamic parallax barrier is constructed from a fully
addressable LCD screen 210 placed in front of the screen 212 used to
render the stereo scene 214 and to create a virtual scene 216 from the
viewpoint of an eye 218. This approach permits greater flexibility and
usability while mitigating some of the drawbacks of the previous methods.
The front screen 210 can be rendered transparent, converting the display
to a full-resolution monoscopic system, and eliminating the degradation
of resolution commonly associated with static-barrier displays. In stereo
mode, the parameters of the parallax barrier can be updated in real time,
so that optimal viewing conditions are maintained at all times,
regardless of view distance. Sensitivity to system latency is reduced by
accommodating rapid head movements with a translation of the front
barrier pattern. Moreover, the viewing mode may be adapted in real time
by modifying the barrier parameters in software. Dynamic parallax
barriers can spatially multiplex more than one pair of stereo channels at
the same time, so multiple tracked viewers can either view their own
individual perspective of the same scene, or entirely different scenes.
Any of these variations are possible on a per-tile basis or on a subset
of a tile, since they are all performed at pixel scale in software. All
of these features occur by virtue of the barrier being dynamic and fully
addressable like any other graphical display.

[0047]For very large displays of the invention, particularly in the table
embodiments, until large enough high resolution displays are available,
some embodiments that exceed the size of currently available LCD panels
may require tiling of multiple LCD panels in each of the first and second
layers. An example embodiment of a tiled device is shown in FIG. 7. In
this embodiment, the device 10a is divided into six groups of LCD panels
300 for use with multiple users 108a. Additional software may be required
to permit such tiling. An example operating SAGE, which is an operating
system for tiled-display environments, that lets users launch distributed
visualization applications on remote clusters of computers and stream the
visualizations directly to their tiled displays, where they can be viewed
and manipulated.

[0048]While tiling LCDs introduces mullions, the increased resolution
provided is more important. The effect of the mullions can be minimized
by rendering graphics is rendered in such a way as to take them into
account (e.g., by placing virtual pixels behind them so the effect is
like looking out of a window). The need for mullions will disappear when
LCD display technology (or another type of comparable display) can make
completely seamless and scalable flat-panel displays of desirable size
and necessary resolution. For comparison, an example of a non-tiled
device 10b is shown in FIG. 8, which is slightly angled towards and is
being operated by a single user 108b.

[0049]A preferred embodiment device provides 24-Megapixel resolution, and
generates 9 fixed views. The preferred embodiment device also provides
8-Megapixel resolution, and generates user-centered-perspective
autostereoscopic views. However, as larger LCD displays become available
with high resolution, the need, for example, for multiple LCD panels in
layers of a preferred embodiment table of the invention may be
alleviated.

[0050]Preferred embodiment displays provide resolution that approaches
print quality (approximately 72-dpi, or higher). With current LCD
technology at a reasonable cost, and example embodiment large format high
resolution interactive display table can be built using twelve 30''
(4-Megapixel) LCD panels (6 for image generation, and 6 for stereo
separation) providing a total resolution of 24-Megapixels.

[0051]As noted, devices of the invention will have many important
applications for a variety of users. Some of these users are domain
scientists who increasingly rely on digital infrastructure (also known as
cyberinfrastructure) and global collaboration to conduct research.
Therefore, the device is preferably equipped with 1 to 10 Gigabit/s
network interfaces and switches that can enable them to connect to
10-Gigabit national and international high-speed networks, such as
National Lambda Rail, Internet2, and the Global Lambda Integrated
Facility. As public and private networks evolve to match speeds of these
high speed networks, displays of the invention can be configured to
communicate with as yet to be developed networks and protocols having
suitable data communication speeds.

[0052]Preferred display devices of the invention also support life-sized
distance collaboration via high-definition videoconferencing with remote
participants who want to be part of a meeting, and to leverage high speed
networks of National Science Foundation's cyberinfrastructure facilities,
such as the TeraGrid and future Petascale Facility, over high-speed
networks. Further, the devices provide spatialized audio feedback with
the visuals that are presented (e.g., the audio from a videoconference is
proximally located with the videoconferencing image.) As shown in FIG. 7,
preferably, high-definition displays 302 are positioned at the ends of
the table and are equipped with high-definition video cameras 304 and
network controllers configured for networking the device 10a to at least
one additional remote display device for remote collaboration. When not
engaged in a videoconference, side screens can be used as additional
surfaces on which information can be posted. Above the users are sound
projectors that enable audio to be spatialized along the length of the
table.

[0053]While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and
described, it should be understood that other modifications,
substitutions and alternatives are apparent to one of ordinary skill in
the art. Such modifications, substitutions and alternatives can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which
should be determined from the appended claims.

[0054]Various features of the invention are set forth in the appended
claims.